The Orioles have placed veteran righty starting pitcher Justin Duchscherer on the 15-day disabled list due to a hip problem. He has only pitched in 5 games the last two years because of his hip, so this should come as no surprise to the Orioles. Young righty Chris Tillman will take over Duchscherer’s spot in the starting rotation until he is ready to return to action. The Orioles should have known better and not have signed Duchscherer in the first place as he is as brittle as they come.

The Orioles have released veteran outfielder Randy Winn. Winn got caught in a numbers game with the Orioles and he got the short end of the stick. He played in 14 games for the Orioles this spring and he was 10 of 36 (.278 avg, .722 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 1 homer, 3 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Winn might hook on with another team soon, but the Orioles won’t miss him.

54-year old Buck Showalter arrived on the scene in the second half of the 2010 season and the Orioles looked good under him. Showalter led the Orioles to a 34-23 (59.6%) last season which should give the team momentum heading into 2011. The Orioles also made some trades and signed some reinforcements to improve the lineup, defense and bullpen. Showalter has a career record as a major league manager of 917-856 (51.7%) during the regular season and he is 3-6 (33.3%) in the post season. Showalter is aiming to get the Orioles back on the right path and I think he will in 2011.

The Baltimore Orioles have gotten Rule 5 Pick Pat Egan back from the Brewers while they have returned Rule 5 Pick Adrian Rosario back to the Brewers. Egan pitched in 49 games (0 starts) in AA+AAA-ball last year and he was 7-2 with 5 saves, a 3.44 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Egan has now pitched in 112 games (31 starts) in his first four years in the minors and he is 17-15 with 9 saves, a 3.24 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Egan is closer to the majors than Rosario, so this tradeoff favors the Orioles.

The Orioles’ starting rotation might be on the young side, but the bullpen is going to be a battle-tested unit with a lot of experience. 32-year old Kevin Gregg will likely enter the 2011 season as the Orioles’ closer. Gregg pitched in 63 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last year and he was 2-6 with 37 saves, a 3.51 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP. He has now pitched in 406 games (8 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 25-33 with 122 saves, a 4.03 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Gregg is not a lockdown closer by any means but most of the time he gets the job done.

If Gregg runs into any problems in 2011, the Orioles won’t hesitate to switch to 35-year old righty Koji Uehara to close. But at the start of the season, Uehara will be the main set up man for the Orioles. Uehara pitched in 43 games (0 starts) for the Orioles last year and he was 1-2 with 13 saves, a 2.86 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He has now pitched in 55 games (12 starts) in his first two years with the Orioles and he is 3-6 with 13 saves, a 3.58 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Uehara has whiffed 103 batters while only walking 17 batters in his first 110 2/3 innings in the majors which shows just how aggressive he is. Don’t be shocked if Uehara gets more saves than Gregg in 2011.

32-year old lefty Mike Gonzalez was signed last year to be the Orioles’ closer but it just didn’t work out that way due to injuries. Gonzalez pitched in 29 games (0 starts) for the Orioles last year and he was 1-3 with 1 save, a 4.01 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He has now pitched in 331 games (0 starts) in his first 8 years in the majors and he is 15-19 with 55 saves, a 2.68 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Gonzalez has only given up 231 hits in 305 1/3 innings so far in his major league career and he has 361 whiffs, which shows how nasty he can be when healthy.

27-year old righty Jim Johnson is a solid pitcher who can work in the middle innings or later in games if the Orioles need him to. Johnson pitched in 26 games (0 starts) for the Orioles last year and he was 1-1 with 1 save, a 3.42 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has now pitched in 146 games (1 start) in his first five years with the Orioles and he is 7-12 with 12 saves, a 3.65 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Johnson will do a good job for the Orioles in 2011 as long as he can stay in one piece.

27-year old righty Jason Berken was awful in the rotation as a rookie in 2010 for the Orioles. But, they converted him to relief last season and he was very solid. Berken pitched in 41 games (0 starts) for the Orioles last year and he was 3-3 with a 3.03 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He has now pitched in 65 games (24 starts) in his first two years with the Orioles and he is 9-15 with a 5.34 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. Berken will likely do a decent job out of the pen for the Orioles in 2011.

29-year old righty Jeremy Accardo pitched in 5 games (0 starts) for the Blue Jays last year and he was 0-1 with a 8.10 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP. He also pitched in 42 games (0 starts) in AAA-ball last year and he was 3-2 with 24 saves, a 3.48 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. Accardo has now pitched in 204 games (0 starts) in his first six years in the majors and he is 7-17 with 38 saves, a 3.95 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Accardo might be a pleasant surprise for the Orioles if he gets the chance to help them out in 2011.

34-year old righty David Riske pitched in 23 games (0 starts) for the Brewers last year and he was 0-0 with a 5.01 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has now pitched in 462 games (0 starts) in his first 11 years in the majors and he is 20-20 with 22 saves, a 3.67 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Riske often looks like a deer in headlights when working in close games, so if the Orioles use him in the middle innings he might be o.k.

36-year old lefty Mark Hendrickson pitched in 52 games (1 start) for the Orioles last year and he was 1-6 with a 5.26 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. He has now pitched in 105 games (12 starts) in his first two years with the Orioles and he is 7-11 with 1 save, a 4.74 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Hendrickson is valuable because he can work more than one inning at a time if needed.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE ORIOLES BULLPEN IN 2011: B